He says he was told by Tony Jennings, who is the director of the company and partner firm Agility Events, that he would receive £2,500 for carrying out the job, which required him to spend time away from his family.

Ronnie says the stress of not being paid led to him having a stroke (Image: Jerome Ellerby)

Mr Hazell has been paid £1,500 but is yet to receive the rest of his wages.

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Pay disputes in Hull

The 54-year-old said: “It caused me to have a stroke with all the stress and everything else. I ended up in hospital and it was frightening.

“I’ve had so much of the money but he still owes me £1,000, and he is not paying staff like he should when we need that money.

Watch above: Ronnie talks about the wages he is allegedly owed by Tony Jennings

“It was very hard over Christmas and I couldn’t even give Christmas boxes to some people. They were understanding but how was I supposed to explain to my granddaughters who are six and eight that their own grandad can’t get them Christmas boxes? It was heartbreaking.”

Long hours and a lengthy commute

Ronnie had to make lengthy commutes down to Gloucester and Portsmouth to carry out the jobs (Image: Jerome Ellerby)

Mr Hazell worked two stints in Portsmouth at Gunwharf Quays shopping centre, and another at Gloucester Quays shopping centre in October and November 2018.

He initially spent nine days painting ceilings in Portsmouth before spending five days in Gloucester, with a two-day break at home in Hull inbetween. He then later returned to Portsmouth to carry out more work.

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Mr Hazell, who is now desperate for work, said: “Tony said to me ‘look Ronnie, you will get paid every penny. You will get all your wages.’ But the last time I spoke to him was the middle of last week and he said he couldn’t give me any money.

“I’m determined all the way to get what I’m owed. I want this money that he owes me because I’ve worked for it, put the hours in and even made myself poorly.

“I need this money and I’m going to go as high as I can to get it.”

The 'Grinch' grotto owner

Ronnie Hazell and his partner Lynette O'Pray (Image: Jerome Ellerby)

Revelations of staff being owed money by Mr Jennings’ company spread far and wide after it emerged actors playing Santa and his elves at various locations across the country had not been paid.

They were due to be paid on January 10 but in an email Mr Jennings told staff he would not be able to.

Anna Louise, 27, worked 134 hours which she has not yet been paid for, and claims she is owed £1,139, with Hannah Tummons, 17, Ellen Crimlis, 24, and Nathan Major, 23, also allegedly left out of pocket.

Investigations suggest there are seven grottos across the country where staff have not been paid.

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These include Princes Quay Shopping Centre in Hull, Gunwharf Quays Shopping Centre in Portsmouth, Xscape in Castleford, the Lowry Outlet in Manchester, The Victoria Leeds, Freeport Baintree in Essex and the Gloucester Quays outlet in Gloucestershire.

What Mr Jennings and the shopping centres say

Man staff are still waiting to be paid (Image: Vicky Benge, Go! Photo)

A spokesman for Gloucester Quays, where Mr Hazell worked to paint the grotto, told Gloucestershire Live: "Lifestyle Outlets contracted Agility Events /Grotto Hire UK to run Christmas grottos at both our Outlet centres Lowry Outlet, Manchester and Gloucester Quays, Gloucester; running all operational aspects of the grottos including the staffing of them.

"Both of our centres are fully up to date with payments to the firm and we have in fact incurred additional costs to ensure that the grottos were operating to our high standards that unfortunately Agility Events /Grotto Hire UK did not meet.

"The responsibility for paying staff lies with Agility Events /Grotto Hire UK, we are aware that staff have not been paid, this sadly is also the case for other grottos throughout the UK that Agility Events/ Grotto Hire UK operated, and we are doing our utmost to ensure Agility Events/Grotto Hire UK resolve this."

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Gunwharf Quays did not want to comment specifically on Mr Hazell's case.

According to Companies House, Mr Jennings is also the listed as director of Build a Burger Bar & Grill Ltd and Illumination Hire UK Ltd. He was also director of Tega Events Limited - a company which has now dissolved.

In a brief statement to Hull Live Mr Jennings said: “We are working with our customers who have been really supportive to bring payments forward.”

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